Sunday, August 29, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

NORM: Roy Horn plans Mirage birthday

Golden Nugget owners Tom Breitling, left, and Tim Poster had higher hopes for a TV show about the casino. George Maloof won't pay for Britney Spears' next wedding. Britney Spears

A 60th birthday bash for Roy Horn is being planned for The Mirage on Oct. 3, the one-year anniversary of the near-fatal tiger attack that ended the long-running Siegfried & Roy show.

The duo's manager, Bernie Yuman, confirmed that he is in the early stages of "a great event."

Asked to confirm that the event will be at The Mirage, Yuman said, "The Mirage has been our home, is our home and will continue to be our home."

He said there's no truth to rumors out of Germany that the illusionists would mark Horn's birthday in their homeland.

On Sept. 15, NBC will air its one-hour special "Siegfried & Roy -- The Miracle." The special, from 9-10 p.m., will highlight Horn's struggle to overcome a stroke that paralyzed his left side.

NBC unveils "Father of the Pride," a prime-time animation series about Siegfried & Roy's big cat family, on Tuesday.

'Casino' regrets

Golden Nugget co-owner Tim Poster is conceding that "maybe I made some mistakes" in not having more say in the Fox reality show "The Casino."

In an interview with Call Back, the local entertainment trade paper, Poster said he "absolutely hated" the sleaze factor that permeates the Mark Burnett production.

"It was all about sleaze and sex and degenerates," said Poster, who, along with co-owner Tom Breitling, had higher hopes.

Poster said the national exposure was "a positive, but only a moderate positive."

He added, "if anyone thinks the perception the show gives of the Golden Nugget or Tom and myself is real, they are very wrong."

MDA move

The local Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon is moving to the Las Vegas Hilton convention area after a brief run at the Harley-Davidson store on Eastern Avenue.

KLAS-TV, Channel 8 anchors Gary Waddell and Paula Francis, along with weathercaster Kevin Janison, return to the telethon as local hosts.

Entertainers on the local segments will include David Brenner, who debuts Sept. 3 at the Hilton, New York-New York headliner Rita Rudner, and Rio headliners The Scintas.

The telethon will air on KLAS-TV and Channels 1 and 19 beginning Sept. 5.

The Scene and Heard

US magazine is reporting that Palms owner George Maloof has offered to "foot the bill if Britney Spears marries again in Sin City." Reached on Saturday, Maloof said, "That's not true."

Sightings

Diva-in-distress Courtney Love, arriving at Body English (Hard Rock Hotel) Friday with a security escort. ... Pro golf money leader Vijay Singh, dining on Kobe beef at Bradley Ogden restaurant (Caesars Palace) on Thursday before attending the Celine Dion show. ... Porn star Jenna Jameson, at the Hard Rock's "Boxers & Bustiers" theme party at the pool Saturday. ... Jimmie Walker, known for his popular 1970s catch-phrase "Dyno-mite" as J.J. Evans in "Good Times," dishing out anti-Bush jokes Friday at Texas Station during the '70s Soul Jam. Also there: Joe Jackson of the Jackson family, Cuba Gooding Sr., former lead of the Main Ingredient, and Chi-Lites lead Marshall Thompson, who got a surprise birthday party. He's 62.

The Punch Line

"Looser slots at the Olympic Village." -- One of David Letterman's Top Ten "Ways to Make the Olympics More Fun."

Norm Clarke can be reached at 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com.